Challenge Wrap Up

Sunday, March 17, 2013

So BLC 17 for the 20 something's group is coming to an end today, and I've had mixed results.

Looking back at my initial fitness plan, I planned to try for 6000-10000 steps per day, 30 minutes of moderate activity per day, and a calorie deficit of at least 1000 per day all as measured by my Body Media armband. I've been extremely successful in hitting every one of those goals at least 6 days a week, but unfortunately, that didn't translate to the losses that I'd hoped for. Something is going on in my body where I'm not losing weight (or even much size) despite being pretty meticulous about maintaining significant calorie deficits. I'm sure not smoking was at least part of it, but I'm a little worried there might be something else going on.

On the bright side, my fitness has improved pretty drastically since the challenge began. In 8 weeks, I've knocked almost 5 minutes off my mile time, and may have been able to knock more off, but didn't want to do a full out mile because I still had another 40 minutes to go at the gym when I measured that. My resting heart rate has gone down slightly - from 66 to 61 bpm - but it wasn't high to begin with so that's a good thing. Eight weeks ago, I could do 20 push-ups and 23 sit-ups in one minute. Today, I can do 32 and 31 respectively. Over the whole of my body, I've lost about 15 inches, and that's measuring during TOM where I know that I'm bloated.

I've also lost about 5.5 pounds in the 8 weeks of this challenge, which is kind of depressing, but at least it's a loss. Even if I only lose 5.5 pounds every 8 weeks, I'll get where I want to be eventually as long as I keep doing what I'm doing.

Oh, and maybe the milestone I'm proudest of... when I joined BLC 17, I had gone 3 days without a cigarette. Today, I've gone 2 months and 1 day, and am truly having a pretty easy time of being a non-smoker!

Overall, I'm really glad I did this challenge. It's hard for a competitive person like myself not to be able to contribute more to the "weigh-ins", but I feel like I've participated in the healthiest ways for me. All I can keep doing is eating well, tracking food, drinking water, and moving more! If I do those things, I'll at least heal the inside of me, even if the outside doesn't change as much as I'd like!

You know... I read your previous blog post earlier today, and was going to offer my sympathy to a fellow "slow loser". However, after reading this post... I've got to be honest with you: You've lost a LOT of inches this BLC! I am wondering if you've lost more fat than you think you have merely because your scale isn't registering the loss in mass.

You may consider using guidelines other than the scale to measure your fat loss. You may find that more fruitful. You already are - fitness and inches - and from those guidelines, it sounds to me like you have had an AMAZING BLC! I am so proud of and for you. What an accomplishment!

But, if you are indeed a slow loser like I am - there's hope. I may fight for every pound I lose (and, like you, my numbers NEVER add up: I "should" have lost 3, 4, or even 5 lbs before I register a 1 lb loss), but with time it gets easier to deal with. When I started last May, it was really hard at first. I meticulously tracked everything, I calculated it all, I watched every morsel, every calorie, every expenditure...worked out harder, ate less... and was baffled, frustrated, and eventually just angry. Why did my body have to be so stubborn? And then it finally dawned on me that I had conditioned it to be this way. Once I realized that, I decided to just forgive myself and accept my body the way that it is. So, I do. It gets easier. Sure, I envy people who lose 15 inches in 8 weeks... *cough*cough*... but I know my body is giving it up just as fast as it is able/comfortable, so I can't let myself be overrun by the green-eyed monster.

So, CONGRATULATIONS ON A JOB WELL DONE!!! Celebrate your success, and try not to get hung up on the numbers too much. You've done fabulously this challenge, and I can't wait to see you again next season. Keep striving! You can do this.